[0:06] HELLO BLOOMINGTON. I’M MAYOR TIM BUSSE AND THIS

IS THE COUNCIL MINUTE FOR THE WEEK OF JULY 21.

[0:11] THERE IS A LOT OF STUFF GOING ON, SO INSTEAD OF

GOING IN-DEPTH TODAY, I’M GOING TO PROVIDE THE

[0:16] HIGHLIGHTS OF THE COUNCIL MEETING ON MONDAY NIGHT

AND UPDATE YOU ON A FEW OTHER THINGS AS WELL.

[0:20] ON MONDAY, THE CITY COUNCIL HAD A

DISCUSSION ABOUT THE LANGUAGE THAT

[0:23] WILL APPEAR ON THE BALLOT IN NOVEMBER ASKING

RESIDENTS IF THE CITY SHOULD CONTINUE TO

[0:28] USE RANKED CHOICE VOTING IN CITY ELECTIONS.

NOW, IF YOU’RE THINKING “DIDN’T BLOOMINGTON

[0:32] ALREADY VOTE ON THE QUESTION OF RANKED CHOICE

VOTING AND HASN’T THE CITY BEEN USING RANKED

[0:36] CHOICE VOTING IN MUNICIPAL ELECTIONS FOR

THE PAST FOUR YEARS” YOU’RE EXACTLY RIGHT.

[0:40] BACK IN NOVEMBER OF 2020, BLOOMINGTON VOTERS

APPROVED A BALLOT QUESTION ASKING IF THE

[0:45] CITY SHOULD CHANGE THE CITY CHARTER AND USE

RANKED CHOICE VOTING IN ELECTIONS FOR MAYOR

[0:49] AND CITY COUNCILMEMBERS. THE BALLOT MEASURE

PASSED WITH 51 PERCENT OF VOTERS SAYING YES

[0:54] TO RANKED CHOICE VOTING IN A YEAR WHEN 92.4

PERCENT OF REGISTERED VOTERS CAST A BALLOT.

[1:00] BUT, JUST LIKE THE CITY CHARTER WAS CHANGED

TO APPROVE RANKED CHOICE VOTING, IT CAN BE

[1:04] CHANGED AGAIN SO THAT THE CITY WOULD GO BACK

TO THE MORE TRADITIONAL FORM OF ELECTIONS THAT

[1:09] INCLUDE A PRIMARY ELECTION AND A GENERAL ELECTION.

A GROUP OF BLOOMINGTON RESIDENTS COLLECTED ENOUGH

[1:14] SIGNATURES THROUGH A PETITION EFFORT TO PUT THE

QUESTION ON THE BALLOT ONCE AGAIN THIS FALL.

[1:18] OUR DISCUSSION ON MONDAY EVENING WAS ABOUT THE

SPECIFIC WORDING OF THAT BALLOT QUESTION. CITY

[1:23] STAFF PROPOSED A COUPLE OF IDEAS AND THE COUNCIL

OFFERED SOME SUGGESTIONS AS WELL, ALL WITH THE

[1:28] IDEA OF MAKING SURE THE BALLOT QUESTION

IS STRAIGHTFORWARD AND EASY TO UNDERSTAND,

[1:32] WHILE AT THE SAME TIME ENSURING THAT THE

LANGUAGE ACCURATELY REFLECTS THE INTENT

[1:36] OF THE RESIDENTS WHO PRESENTED THE PETITION.

ULTIMATELY, WE CAME TO CONSENSUS ON THE LANGUAGE,

[1:42] BUT THE COUNCIL ASKED STAFF TO TAKE ONE MORE LOOK

AND BRING BACK FINAL RECOMMENDED LANGUAGE AT OUR

[1:47] AUGUST 5 MEETING. THE BOTTOM LINE IS THAT THE

QUESTION OF RANKED CHOICE VOTING WILL BE ON THE

[1:52] BALLOT AGAIN THIS FALL AND YOU’LL CERTAINLY BE

HEARING MORE ABOUT IT BETWEEN NOW AND NOVEMBER.

[1:58] ALSO ON MONDAY, STAFF PROVIDED STATUS UPDATES

ON THE THREE BLOOMINGTON FORWARD PROJECTS:

[2:03] THE COMMUNITY HEALTH AND WELLNESS CENTER;

THE RENOVATION OF BLOOMINGTON ICE GARDEN;

[2:06] AND THE NINE MILE CREEK CORRIDOR RENEWAL PROJECT.

THERE’S A LOT GOING ON WITH THE COMMUNITY HEALTH

[2:11] AND WELLNESS CENTER. THE COUNCIL HEARD ABOUT

SUSTAINABILITY, A SUMMARY OF AMENITIES,

[2:15] AND SAW SOME VERY BASIC DESIGNS FOR THE

FACILITY AND PARKING. WE ALSO HAD A GOOD

[2:19] DISCUSSION ABOUT COST RECOVERY – TRYING TO

FIND A BALANCE BETWEEN ENSURING THAT EVERYONE

[2:25] HAS ACCESS TO THE HEALTH AND WELLNESS CENTER

AND ENSURING THAT ENOUGH REVENUE IS GENERATED

[2:29] THROUGH USER FEES AND MEMBERSHIPS SO THAT A

GOOD PORTION OF FACILITY COSTS ARE COVERED.

[2:35] THERE HAS BEEN A LOT OF COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENT

ALREADY ON THIS AND THE COUNCIL WILL BE

[2:39] REVIEWING THE RESULTS OF A STATISTICALLY

VALID SURVEY AT OUR MEETING ON AUGUST 26.

[2:44] THE PROJECT TO MODERNIZE THE BLOOMINGTON

ICE GARDEN IS ALSO MOVING RIGHT ALONG. THE

[2:47] COUNCIL APPROVED A BID PACKAGE FOR REFRIGERATION

EQUIPMENT AND NEW DASHER BOARDS BID BACK IN APRIL,

[2:53] STAFF MET WITH OUR FRIENDS AT BLOOMINGTON PUBLIC

SCHOOLS IN JUNE TO TALK ABOUT HIGH SCHOOL LOCKER

[2:57] ROOM DESIGNS, AND THEY’RE LOOKING AT WAYS TO

REDESIGN THE PARKING LOT TO MAKE IT SAFER.

[3:03] AFTER LOOKING AT A NUMBER OF POSSIBLE OPTIONS,

IT WAS DECIDED THAT THE PROJECT SUSTAINABILITY

[3:07] FOCUS WILL BE ON SOLAR ENERGY AND ELECTRICAL

EQUIPMENT. THE ROOF OVER RINK THREE CAN HANDLE

[3:13] A SOLAR ARRAY AND STAFF IS LOOKING AT SOLAR

COMPATIBILITY ON THE REST OF THE FACILITY.

[3:17] THERE WAS AN OPEN HOUSE THIS WEEK WHERE FOLKS

HAD A CHANCE TO CHECK OUT CONCEPT DESIGNS AND

[3:22] HEAR MORE ABOUT CONSTRUCTION PLANS AND

TIMELINES. WORK WILL BEGIN THIS FALL

[3:25] ON THE REFRIGERATION EQUIPMENT AND AREA OF THE

BUILDING THAT WILL HOUSE THE NEW EQUIPMENT. FULL

[3:31] CONSTRUCTION WILL START IN MID-MARCH OF 2025.

OVER AT NINE MILE CREEK, THE SITE ASSESSMENT

[3:36] OF EXISTING CONDITIONS HAS STARTED. THE

DESIGN TEAM IS DOING A TOPOGRAPHIC SURVEY,

[3:41] A NATURAL AREA ASSESSMENT INCLUDING WETLAND

DELINEATIONS, BRIDGE ASSESSMENTS, AND A CREEK

[3:46] ASSESSMENT. THAT WORK SHOULD BE DONE THIS FALL.

UPCOMING EVENTS INCLUDE A NATURE AND ECOLOGY

[3:51] CREEK WALK ON JULY 30. THE WALK WILL BE LEAD BY

STAFF FROM PARK MAINTENANCE, WATER RESOURCES,

[3:56] AND NINE MILE CREEK WATERSHED DISTRICT.

IT GOES FROM 5:00 TO 6:00 AND EVERYONE

[4:00] IS WELCOME. THE NEXT LARGE ENGAGEMENT EVENT

WILL BE IN MOIR PARK ON WEDNESDAY, AUGUST 7.

[4:05] FOCUS GROUP DISCUSSIONS REGARDING ACCESSIBILITY

AND CONNECTIVITY WILL BEGIN BY EARLY AUGUST.

[4:10] THE PLAN IS TO HAVE CONCEPTS FOR THE

COMMUNITY AND COUNCIL TO REVIEW IN

[4:14] OCTOBER AND A RECOMMENDATION ON THE OVERALL

PROJECT CONCEPT ELEMENTS, SPECIFICALLY AS

[4:19] IT RELATES TO TRAIL USE, IN DECEMBER.

AS I SAID EARLIER, THESE ARE JUST THE

[4:24] HIGHLIGHTS OF THESE THREE PROJECTS.

YOU CAN FIND A LOT MORE INFORMATION

[4:28] ON EACH ON THE BLOOMINGTON FORWARD WEBSITE.

I ALSO WANT TO TAKE A MINUTE TO RECOGNIZE

[4:33] YOUR GREAT BLOOMINGTON CITY STAFF.

LAST WEEK, OUR OUTSTANDING BLOOMINGTON

[4:37] COMMUNICATIONS STAFF RECEIVED 10 AWARDS AS

PART OF THE MINNESOTA ASSOCIATION OF GOVERNMENT

[4:42] COMMUNICATORS 2024 NORTHERN LIGHTS AWARDS CONTEST.

THERE WERE 162 ENTRIES SUBMITTED TO THIS YEAR’S

[4:49] CONTEST FROM ORGANIZATIONS FROM ACROSS MINNESOTA.

BLOOMINGTON WON FOUR FIRST-PLACE HONORS AND ONE

[4:56] INDIVIDUAL SPECIAL ACHIEVEMENT AWARD. OVERALL,

BLOOMINGTON COMMUNICATIONS RECEIVED THE MOST

[5:01] AWARDS OF ANY SINGLE ORGANIZATION IN THE CONTEST.

THE FIRST PLACE AWARDS WERE FOR THE BLOOMINGTON.

[5:06] TOMORROW. TOGETHER. STATE OF THE CITY EVENT; THE

BLOOMINGTON. TOMORROW. TOGETHER. CORPORATE REPORT;

[5:11] THE TOP FUN: HIGHWAY TO THE OPEN HOUSE

PROMOTIONAL VIDEO; AND A VIDEO EXPLAINING

[5:16] THE CITY’S SIDEWALK SNOW REMOVAL PRIORITIES.

ALSO RECOGNIZED WITH SECOND AND THIRD PLACE

[5:20] AWARDS WERE THE BLOOMINGTON FORWARD PUBLIC

INFORMATION WORK; THE BLOOMINGTON BRIEFING;

[5:24] AND THREE VIDEO SERIES BLOOMINGTON TODAY

REFRESHED, NOTABLE NEIGHBOR, AND SNOWPLOW HEROES.

[5:30] AND A REALLY COOL AWARD; BLOOMINGTON

COMMUNICATIONS ADMINISTRATOR JANINE

[5:35] HILL RECEIVED THE MINNESOTA ASSOCIATION

OF GOVERNMENT COMMUNICATORS HIGHEST HONOR,

[5:40] THE LIFETIME ACHIEVEMENT AWARD.

JANINE STARTED WITH BLOOMINGTON

[5:43] AS A PART-TIME COMMUNICATIONS SPECIALIST IN

1999, WENT FULL TIME IN 2003 AND WAS PROMOTED

[5:49] TO COMMUNICATIONS ADMINISTRATOR IN 2007.

SHE MANAGES THE CITY’S PRINT PUBLICATIONS,

[5:55] VIDEO PRODUCTION, WEBSITES, SOCIAL MEDIA AND

CABLE TV FRANCHISE ADMINISTRATION. JANINE

[6:01] HAS LED THE COMMUNICATIONS DIVISION TO MORE

THAN 100 LOCAL AND NATIONAL AWARDS AND SHE

[6:07] IS A ROCK STAR. CONGRATULATIONS JANINE.

AND FINALLY, A BIG MAYOR’S SHOUTOUT TO

[6:14] COMMUNICATIONS INTERNS AMBER LATZKE AND WEEMON

YEAKESON FOR CREATING A NEW CITY OF BLOOMINGTON

[6:20] INSTAGRAM REEL SERIES FEATURING OUR PETS!

MY BOYS JAKE AND ELWOOD HAD THE HONOR OF BEING

[6:25] THE FIRST GUESTS ON PAW-SPECTIVES, A NEW SERIES

HIGHLIGHTING THE FURRY FRIENDS OF BLOOMINGTON.

[6:31] HEAD OVER TO THE CITY OF BLOOMINGTON INSTAGRAM

PAGE TO SEE THE FULL REEL. AND IF YOU HAVE A

[6:36] DOGGONE CUTE PET PHOTO TO SHARE, WE WANT

TO SEE IT. YOU CAN SUBMIT YOUR PET PIX

[6:42] AT BLM DOT MN SLASH PHOTO. BE SURE TO WRITE A

SHORT DESCRIPTION ABOUT YOUR FOUR-LEGGED FRIEND

[6:48] FOR A CHANCE TO BE FEATURED IN PAW-SPECTIVES.

THAT WILL DO IT FOR THIS WEEKS COUNCIL MINUTE.

[6:53] THANKS SO MUCH FOR JOINING ME TODAY.

UNTIL NEXT TIME, STAY SAFE BLOOMINGTON.